SAN MARCOS, Calif. - The University of California, Merced men's basketball team shot a season-best 54% from the field, but it wasn't enough as the Bobcats fell 84-79 to University of Saint Katherine on Thursday night in the first Cal Pac road test of the year.

The Bobcats (7-3, 3-1) also tied their season-high with 12 three-point field goals on a season-best 57% (12-21) from deep in their first loss in six games. The Bobcats three-point shooting efficiency was their top mark since February 20, 2020.

Mason Westlake buried six of his nine triples and tied his Cal Pac career-high with 25 points to lead the Bobcats offensively. After back-to-back 20-point games, the recent 1,000 point scorer is now just 15 points away from becoming the program's all-time leading scorer. Aki Chambers has held the record since 2013 with 1,097 career points. Westlake also dished out four assists against the Firebirds.

Cameron Brown scored a career-high 16 points on 70% (7-10) shooting and neared his career-high with seven assists. Thursday night marked Brown's second straight game with at least 12 points and seven assists. The freshman point guard also blocked a shot.

Chris Bramah added ten points and grabbed seven rebounds for the second time in as many outings.

Kingsley Obiorah scored eight points without a miss, while Jayson Wiltz and DeDrick Martin scored seven and six points, respectively.

Other individual notables include seven rebounds and a block from Jaron Mertle, three assists from Wiltz, and a block from Martin. Tiler Fears had two assists and a steal.

Head coach Kevin Pham's squad scored the game's first seven points and led for the first nine minutes. The Bobcats were tied on three occasions, but never trailed in the opening 20 minutes. The Bobcats total lead time in the first half was 18 minutes and 28 seconds. Brown and Westlake traded big shots to make sure the Bobcats were the ones to come out in front out of a tie. UC Merced led 42-41 at intermission.

USK took their first lead on the first possession of the second half. After a couple more Firebird baskets, Bramah and Westlake got a pair of buckets to pull even with the home team at 47. However, Saint Katherine answered with a 14-4 run to take the game's biggest lead, 61-51. 

An immediate UC Merced 8-0 run brought the Bobcats back within a possession. The Bobcats trailed by just one point at 66-65 with under eight to play and although never ended up hitting a go-ahead shot, remained within two possessions the rest of the way. The Bobcats stayed in it with field goals from five different players down the stretch. 

Saint Katherine, the 2022 Cal Pac Tournament champions, sealed their victory by making all four of their free throws in the final 20 seconds. The Firebirds shot 81% (13-16) from the foul line overall.

Up next, UC Merced visits Westcliff University for the latter half of a back-to-back on Friday, December 9 at 7:30pm at the Jordan Lawley Facility in Irvine, Calif.